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Thread: Project Minne - a 72 build thread

  1. #131
    mad scientist
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    Moving right along. The primer looks good and now the real work begins. Time to put in my sweat equity into the car. Its still really warm so there is lots of sweat going on.

    Let's see, I skim coated all the panels with filler to block the car smooth. the process is simple, skim and then sand, and sand, and sand and sand... Always fun spending money on good product and basically sanding it all off onto the floor only to be swept up and into the trash. Ahh, such is lift. But that's the way panels come out straight.

    The two fenders, two doors and rear quarter panels are nicely blocked down. The large alternating high (metal or primer) and low (filler) islands that form after blocking the car mean I am pretty straight. The long transitions between these areas also are an indicator that the car is really starting to smooth out. I guess all that elbow grease with a long board sander are starting to pay off. And yes, my shoulders have been sore. I have not been to the gym in a week. Don't need to go.







    While blocking the car I keep finding small defects. Like the rocker trim holes I forgot to weld up. Those are all done. My to-do list is getting smaller...

    The roof had a few low spots. These were large depressions that looked a box or something was stored on the roof. To be honest, I have no idea what could have been stored on the roof. I just had to fix it. There were 3 main depressions that were only visible after putting primer. The extra gloss made them stand out. These are now islands in the sea of the roof panel. The hard part about blocking the roof is that is you push down too hard the roof will bow inward and you get poor results. So, light pressure is key. This means it takes a long time to get it right.







    I am about to put the car into a second coat of epoxy followed by high build. Then the final blocking will start.
    1971 911T SWT - Sun and Fun Machine
    1972 911T - "Minne" painted and undergoing assembly.

  2. #132
    Longhoods forever! silverc4s's Avatar
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    Wow! Jamie, that car is really coming together. Kudos to you for the patience and perseverance you have demonstrated on this long drawn out project. Your talents are evident here, can’t wait to see it on the road (track��).... keep going it looks a treat.
    Bill Conway, Early S Registry member #254
    1970 S, 2.2L Silvermetallic Coupe
    1973 T, 3.2L Black Carrera Targa
    1969 T, 2.4L Silvermetallic Targa

  3. #133
    mad scientist
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    Thanks Bill. Yes. Trying to get the car painted before it turns cold in Austin. Hah! I said cold and Austin in the same sentence.
    1971 911T SWT - Sun and Fun Machine
    1972 911T - "Minne" painted and undergoing assembly.

  4. #134
    mad scientist
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    There are times when I project is moving forward easily. And then you get the feeling that something is not quite right. Often, these feelings are not warranted. But sometimes they are. Last week I rotated the car in the garage. The DS was looking good and I needed to focus on the PS.

    I had previously put the PS door on the car but it was not exactly fit. Considering it was pushed up against the garage wall I had enough access to shoot primer but not enough to really fit and do body work. Upon car rotation the first step is to fit the door. I have to do this so that I can lock down the hinge positions. Once the doors are fit, you don't move the hinges. You simply pull the pins to take on/off the doors.

    The original door on the car was damaged and I basically pulled it off and stuck it in storage. Meaning it was in the bushes on the side of the house. I had another early door from a 67 912 we parted out about 10 years ago. The door was good so it has been floating around a group of friends since that time. Eventually, my projected needed a door.

    NOw, the 67 door that was planning to use was in very good shape. When I Had the car blasted I also had the door done. There was one spot in the middle of the door that had been previously pulled but it was in way better shape than my original door.

    The problem with this door... It doesn't fit. Strangely enough the curvature was all wrong. No amount of hinge modifcations, shims, pushing, pulling or other manipulations would have the door curvature match up to the tub.



    The realization that I was trying to move forward with paint and I didn't have a door to fit really started to hit me. I thought of every possible combination. I reached out to friends - no early doors. I reached out on the Pelican Classified - everyone is at RRVI (yes, I did get some fantastic responses). And then I told myself to pull out the original door and look closer.

    The original door had been "over opened" at some point in its life. I recall disassembling the car that the door was rubbing the fender and didn't close properly. I suspect that the door stay was broken and it was flung open. When this happens, the door hinges are pulled toward the outside of the door and the door skin buckles. Here is what this looks like for a visual.



    As you can see, the straight edge doesn't lie. The door skin had a huge buckle from top to bottom at the leading edge. The forward edge was pulled outward. In a word, this wasn't "bolt-on".

    The next phase of the realization was to fix the door. If I pull off the skin I could straighten the frame and then reskin. That shouldn't be a problem. I decided to start down this path and so I ordered a new door skin and a door seaming tool for my air chisel. And then I started to look closer.

    The backside of the door I could see where the creases were from the hinges moving. I decided it was worth the effort to start the straightening process before removing the skin. If It worked great, if not, the door still had to come apart. The plan was simple. figure out which direction the door would have to move to bend the metal in the first place and then figure out how to move it back in the opposite direction to where it originally was.

    The initial pull went something like this. Get a wooden drift (block of hardwood) and a BFH and strategically force the metal back into shape. I hit downward on the leading edge flange, levered downward on the hinges (relative to the skin) and Here is what happened after the initial movement. The door was mostly straightened.



    Encouraged by the results I started working the metal. More pull here, outward there, push and tuck over there. And then I used a wooden block from inside the door to raise a few low spots in the skin. Followed by some work with the shrinking disk. At the end of the first hour I had something like this.



    The door wasn't perfect but This was acceptable and would be a good starting point for door fit and bodywork.


    Of course, while I was working on the door I found a rust hole in the bottom corner. That hole was cutout with margin.



    The rust hole will be welded in in another installment. I have to treat the seams first.





    AT this point I Had to check door fit before going any further. Yes, this door fits. The curvature is right and the gaps are very good with a single lower shim on the hinge. At this point, I knew I was headed the right direction.







    For all of you who think that paint jobs cost a lot of money (me included), consider how much work a shop has to do. You don't just scuff and shoot and expect any decent results.
    1971 911T SWT - Sun and Fun Machine
    1972 911T - "Minne" painted and undergoing assembly.

  5. #135
    mad scientist
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    The initial door fit was good. I partially aligned the fender so that I could check the front gap as well as the panel mate. I want them reasonably flat without skimming over the seam.



    Since the door was fit to the car well I thought it was time to strip it down. So, one night I slathered on the chemical stripper and waited for it to bubble up. That process didn't take long. First I hit the backside and then I flipped it over.




    There were a few small areas that needed to be touched up. That would be done with the wire brush later on.



    Eventually the skin was also stripped. I found some previous repairs including a lot of bondo near the door handle. Yes, I new this car had had a life of its own. I am just continuing to unravel its mysteries.

    Here is the door skin after chemical and mechanical stripping. Nice and clean despite the few dings here and there.



    Interestingly the door was galvanized. Here is the difference between the chemical strip line and mechanical strip line. That dark coating is the factory galvanizing. I was not aware that the doors were galvanized in 72. I thought this was a process added in later years. Oh well, its all gone now. the door is stripped and will be primed.



    Oh yeah, remember that bad corner rust hole. I welded it up. Of course, I only took one picture. the process is simple- and the same process I have used for the past 3 years on this car. Cut and shape a patch. Weld it. Grind it.



    The stripped door along with its nakedness and repaired corner was then fit to the car. I guess that means its time for some more epoxy...

    Here is the final fit. Oh, the fender is not actually bolted on so the top edge doesn't fit quite yet.



    1971 911T SWT - Sun and Fun Machine
    1972 911T - "Minne" painted and undergoing assembly.

  6. #136
    mad scientist
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    Since the door fit it was time to do the finish process. I worked the metal a little more to get rid of a few high and low spots. Then it was time to prime. The process is what I have described before. mechanically clean the surface with a rotary wire brush, stripping disc and DA. Metal wash to neutrailze any rust. Neutralize the metal wash. clean the surface and wipe down to get rid of residuals and oil/grease. Then a coat of epoxy. The backside of the door got 2 wet coats. The skin got a single coat. I only put down a single coat since the filler will go on top. The filler was very thin and blocked down easily.



    I then feathered the entire surface with a DA and shot another 2 layers of epoxy on top. Yes, this looks way better than when I started.



    Even at an angle with some wet gloss it looks straight.



    What I didn't take pictures of was all the hours of blocking and sanding taking place on the tub. Let's just way it is really straight now. It was time for the second coats of primer as well. Here are two wet coats. I can finally start to see all the body lines and that everything is really progressing nicely.










    Big thanks to @jdbunda (John) for coming over and helping lend a critical eye last night. We traded sharpie and flashlight to circle defects in the bodywork, pinholes, waves and anything else we could find. I will address these in the coming days as I get ready for high build.

    At this point, I am going to rest on bodywork and start the underside finish project. I am spraying tinted undercoating...
    1971 911T SWT - Sun and Fun Machine
    1972 911T - "Minne" painted and undergoing assembly.

  7. #137
    Nice work!
    1973 S Targa #0098
    Member # 1498

  8. #138
    Longhoods forever! silverc4s's Avatar
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    Very nice!
    Bill Conway, Early S Registry member #254
    1970 S, 2.2L Silvermetallic Coupe
    1973 T, 3.2L Black Carrera Targa
    1969 T, 2.4L Silvermetallic Targa

  9. #139
    mad scientist
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    Its time to shift my currently scheduled work on the topside of the car and shift to the underside. I can not go much further toward exterior paint until I finish the undercoating.

    I will say... I am not going to finish this car with the factory process for undercoating. It will be finished in body color with just a few sections of black overcoat in spots. I know its not original. I don't care. Nothing about this car will be original.

    The problem with the factory undercoating is that it is a multi-step process. Metal primer, stoneguard, sealer and paint. This is 4 different steps and materials. I don't have the time to make this happen so I started investigating options for tinted undercoating materials.

    The off-road and 4x4 world has many different examples of tinted undercoating materials. All of the popular bed liner materials are tintable. However, I found that in samples they are very hard with a sharp, sandpaper like texture. This lead me to the Upol Raptor. I have a local shop that could tint this for me. The texture is good but the surface was really hard. Too hard. It felt like rock and not the softer (lower durometer) of the Gravitex or similar coatings.

    In the end I found a company MonstaLiner. They have a tintable product that is similar to the Raptor and uses standard color tints. I ordered some sample swatches and the product was very flexible, has a nice pebbly texture, and was soft enough to squish with a fingernail yet leave no depression. Sounds like what I need. I bought a 2 gallon kit of the "road rash" color. The color swatches were almost dead match to the original tangerine paint I left under the door latches. Yes, its bright. Yes, its orange. (though it looks reddish in the pictures)

    Last night I mixed up 16oz of product and applied to the car. Here are some shots. The product was applied with a roller for this test. I had to make sure i coated the mounting points for my octisserie and then rolled out the remaining into wheel wells and a few other areas. The color looks great. VERY VERY close to the mixed can of tangerine I have in the garage. There is no turning back now.



    Here you can see the coating along the torsion bar/spring plate mounts. This is where the octisserie is bolted up so I have to coat ahead of time. I am not sure I can spray around the mounts once bolted up.






    Since the initial test went well it was time to put the tub back on the octisserie.



    I plan to flip it over in the next few days and spray the entire underside of the car, engine bay and part of the front trunk. I will be using the same schutz gun I used on the interior. I think I can come very close to the same texture as the factory bay adjusting the amount of material and pressure. The viscosity is similar to the thermal coatings I made last year and should spray out the same.
    1971 911T SWT - Sun and Fun Machine
    1972 911T - "Minne" painted and undergoing assembly.

  10. #140
    mad scientist
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    Moving along. I sprayed the inside of the door with the sound deadening material. This is the same Lizard Skin product I used on the floors, rear deck and roof. Not very exciting pictures. Just some gray stuff inside the door.



    1971 911T SWT - Sun and Fun Machine
    1972 911T - "Minne" painted and undergoing assembly.

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